Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Daniel Sampere/Daniel Henriques/Danny Miki, Artists; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: After two issues of largely setting the stage, Dark Crisis enters a new phase with a new title. Deathstroke—his mind seemingly addled by Pariah—launched a devastating attack on Titans Tower that left Beast Boy in a coma and nearly killed Nightwing. As the Academy students pack up for home and one young hero takes on the mantle of Red Canary—although it’s not revealed who yet, but I have a good guess—it becomes clear that the new Justice League is not on the same page. Black Adam is trying to whip them into shape with brutal training missions against Deathstroke’s goons, but it doesn’t take long for Adam’s desire to put their villains down permanently to bring them into conflict. In the end, he leaves the team and the heroes are left without a leader—until the JSA steps into the fray, bringing the DCU’s original superhero team back to the center of the universe for the first time in a decade.
While the heroes on Earth battle to restore order, some of the other subplots are fascinating. Rose confronts her father only to bear witness to just how far gone Slade truly is, and there’s a line that indicates the Outlaws team or Roy and Jason may be getting back together for a very personal mission. The real meat of the issue, though, comes in the Green Lantern segment, as the Corps survivors track down Pariah to the Black Lantern and Hal gets closer to the villain than anyone has so far. This is cosmic storytelling at its best, with scenes very reminiscent of the iconic Blackest Night storyline. The ending may give us our biggest hints yet at exactly what’s going on with the Justice League, as Hal pushes too far, seemingly meets his end—and then winds up somewhere new and unpredictable. The cliffhanger brings in another major new player, as Black Adam makes a surprising alliance. This is shaping up to be one hell of an event.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
